Shortest man greets world's leggiest woman

It was a lucky day for the world's shortest man when he met the woman with the world's longest legs — but he was instructed not to look up.

He Pingping, the miniature 20-year-old from Mongolia, has been snapped flanked by the shins of the world's leggiest woman, Svetlana Pankratova, for the bizarre addition to the Guinness World Records.

He stands precisely 74cm tall. The 20-year-old was born with a type of dwarfism and is believed to be the shortest man who can walk.

He called Pankratova's legs "very beautiful".

The two got together in London's Trafalgar Square, with He standing at Pankratova's knees, to celebrate the release of the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records. This year's version of the popular book is due out on Wednesday.

Pankratova, 36, who is Russian but lives in Spain, has legs that are nearly 132cm long, or more than 1.2m long. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.

Dressed in a bright-blue mini-dress and low-heeled pumps, Pankratova, 36, said she liked her legs, though they can complicate things. "It's hard to find clothes, especially pants," she said.

She isn't the tallest woman on record. Sandy Allen, of Shelbyville, Indiana, who died recently, held that title, according to the book. And He is the shortest man who is mobile, the book says.

The latest edition of the book lists pop star Britney Spears as the most-searched person on the internet and the television show Lost as the most-downloaded show of all time.

The book has been around for half a century. About 3.5 million copies are sold each year, according to editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.